PennCard to be used for debits

Six buildings to have access by fall Next fall, students will no longer need to save up change for candy bars and laundry machines. For the first time, they will be able to use their PennCards as electronic cash cards -- giving them access to vending and laundry machines, Penn Student Agencies commissaries and copy machines, according to Senior Director of Student Financial Services Operations John De Long. The University is slated to have at least six buildings hooked up to an on-line computer debit system by next fall, he said. These buildings will include Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, Vance Hall, Graduate Towers A and B, Van Pelt Library and the Law School dining room. Currently, SFS is working on negotiating costs and pricing contracts with vending machine companies. "We've already set phase one in motion," De Long said. "Then we will start with the next group of buildings to be wired into the system, the dorms and high-volume buildings." Students will be able to put money into their electronic cash card account at the beginning of each year. Each time the PennCard is used for a cash purchase, the cost will be subtracted from the account. Chats and The Book Store use similar systems. The Book Store allows students to charge purchases of $10 or more to their bursar accounts. De Long said his department is also taking security measures for the new cash card system. "That's why we're installing an on-line as opposed to an off-line debit system," he said. "It will cost a little more and take a bit longer to install, but the safety benefits are worth it." Many other universities employ an off-line computer system for their debit cards, De Long explained. He added that he hopes Penn's electronic cash card will be better. The on-line debit system will incorporate all buildings and machines, wiring them into a University computer system, which will increase the safety of the card. Students' PennCards will have no value on them and will therefore not be a target of theft, according to De Long. If a student loses his or her card, the money on the card will not be lost, as it would be with an off-line computer system. De Long said the project has been in the works for the past two years, adding that the bulk of University buildings should be wired into the system within the next year and a half. Frank Claus, associate vice president of Finance, said he thinks this project is "definitely moving in the right direction." "We're following our schedule and things are moving quite well," he said. De Long said the University has proposed July 1 as the date on which system testing will begin.